Topsy-turvy
by Bookcrazysongbird
Summary: Anna Leslie lived a normal life. She was a college sophomore who loved reading. Then one day, she met a young man by the name of Anik Kishan Rajaram. Then everything she knew turned topsy-turvy.
1. Prologue: I know this

Summer Break, I love summer, thought Anna as she drove to the mall. As soon as she was there, she made her way into the Gap. She would find something to send to her sister in San Antonio. Wow. Texas seems so far away from Oregon. I was looking through tops when a guy about my age came up and said, "Hello, I'm Anik. Haven't I seen you at WOU?" After momentarily being distracted by his golden eyes and overall handsomeness, I recovered enough to answer, "I don't know. I go to WOU so it's possible but, I don't know." He grinned, "What did you say your name was?" "I didn't. But it's Anna. You said your name was Anik right?" He flashed a devastatingly handsome smile, "I did." I smiled remembering a Tiger's Curse (My all time favorite book series) character with the same name. I grinned, "It wouldn't happen to be Anik Kishan Rajaram would it?" He frowned, "I thought you said we hadn't met." "Oh. We haven't." "But you know my name." "I didn't actually think it would be your name." "Well," he grinned suddenly quite cheerful again, "see if you know anything else about me." "Ok," I pretended to think pensively, "you were named after your uncle and grandfather, both of whom died in a plane crash." He visibly paled, "Mom, Dad, you might want to come over here." A man and woman walked over and it was my turn to lose all skin color. "Oregon, cobalt blue eyes, Asian. Brown hair and eyes, American. I know this. Hello Ren. Kelsey."

**Hi! Ok, sorry this chapter is so short. Think of it as more of a prolouge. Also, all reviews are welcome. Even mean ones. Although, I like nice ones more!**


	2. How much do you know

**AN: Sorry if the perspective change throws anyone off. Anna's now telling the story in the first person. **

Kelsey paled and Ren was suddenly right in my face. "How much do you know?", he demanded, his voice low and dangerous.

"You mean about the curse?" I asked.

A curt nod was his only response.

"Everything." That one word seemed to resonate through the air. As if it changed all of out lives. Come to think about it, it probably did. "Um, I'm guessing you want to know how I know and I'm guessing now isn't the place to tell you."

"No", a shaky voice that came from Kelsey said. "It isn't. Would you be comfortable coming to our house?" Kelsey questioned.

"Uh yeah sure. Can I just grab one thing from my apartment first?"

"Of course. What if Anik goes with you so that he can give you directions from your apartment to our house."

"Yeah, that will work. By the way, name is Anna." I saw Ren's eyes widen in shock as I went to my car with Anik following behind.

Anik seemed to be deep in thought. We were halfway to my apartment when he finally asked me, "What did you mean by curse?" The question definitely caught me off guard.

"You mean they never told you?"

"No"

I looked at him with something that felt like pity. "You just might be in for the shock of your life."

TC-TQ-TV-TD-TC-TQ-TV-TD-TC-TQ-TV-TD-TC-TQ-TV-TD-TC-TQ-TV-TD

I pulled up the long driveway to Ren and Kelsey's house. It looked exactly like the book described. Anik and I walked in. I now had a bag over my arm. We walked up and were greeted with a delicious smell.

Anik grinned, "Stuffed pasta shells and breadsticks! Mom makes the best food."

I grinned knowing the exact significance of THAT particular meal. Apparently, Anik didn't know about that either.

He opened the door and called, "We're here!"

Kelsey came in and smiled "Come sit down we can talk over dinner."

We walked into the dining room and were greeted by Ren. "Come in. Anik, Anna." As soon as he said my name I realized why Ren's eyes had widened when he heard my name.

"I'm not Anamika, just in case you were wondering."

Kelsey's eyes widened with a look that said 'that's exactly what we were wondering' but instead she responded, "Of course not."

Ren cleared his throat. "I don't believe introductions are necessary, but you can call us Ren and Kelsey. No need to be formal."

I nodded. "Ok. Now, about the question of how I know who you are." I pulled four books out of my bag Tiger's Curse, Tiger's Quest, Tiger's Voyage, and Tiger's Destiny. I murmured, "Alagan Dhiren Rajaram, Prince of the Mujaalin empire. Kelsey Hayes Rajaram, chosen one of Durga."** (AN this isn't going to be a Tiger's curse reading. Anna just brought the books as proof)**

Ren stared in wonder at the image on the cover of the first book, "But that's me!"

I nodded, "These books tell everything from the moment Kelsey applies for a job to a little bit after you two read Kishan's letter." I grinned wickedly, "All from Kelsey's point of view."

Kelsey paled, "Thoughts and emotions?"

I nodded.

"What!? Take these off the table!"

Anik, Ren, and I burst out laughing while I put the books back in the bag.

As soon as we finished laughing Anik's demeanor changed completely, "As funny as that was, one thing is bothering me. Dad, what did you mean when you said that was you?"

"Oh, um, well, the thing is," I watched as Kelsey tried to spill out the story.

Suddenly, two people walked in. Both seemed to be of Indian descent. The man had golden eyes flecked with bronze and the woman had piercing green. "Perhaps we could help explain little sister," Anamika's voice rang though a suddenly silent room.


	3. Unexpected Visitors

**A/N: OK, 3rd chapter! I'm going to update even if no one reads or reviews it, but if you're reading, please review! Also, thank you to people who have been reviewing, I will definitely keep writing. **

**Disclaimer: None of the stuff you recognize is mine (that goes for the last few chapters as well!)**

"Anamika? Kishan?" Ren's voice resonated through the room.

Anik's face was a mask of pure shock, "Kishan?! My uncle!?"

Kishan's golden eyes danced. "That would be me."

Anik rounded on his parents, "You told me he was dead!" Anik was obviously quivering with barely suppressed rage. I decided it was time to intervene.

"Anik," I said, placing a hand on his arm, "Your parents' story isn't an easy on to tell. Try giving them a chance to explain."

Anik unclenched his muscles and collapsed into the nearest chair.

Ren, Kelsey, Kishan, and Anamika exchanged glances that confused me until I remembered certain places in the book where Kelsey would calm Ren or Kishan down with a hand on their arm.

"Geez!" I blushed, "Is it not possible that words can calm people down?"

Everyone laughed while Anik looked on confusedly and my face turned redder and redder.  
"If we're all done jumping to conclusions. Maybe we should tell Anik what's going on."

"Could we explain it by reading those books?" Ren asked innocently.

"No!" Kelsey glared at him.

Anamika sighed, "As simple as it would be to read it we don't have enough time."

I nodded. "I could give a short summary, but we're going to need proof."

Kishan nodded, "I can still change, Mika and I have the fruit, scarf, necklace, and rope. We have the Damon amulet and if I temporarily give up my ability to change into one of my incarnations, Ren can change without having to break the curse all over again or needing to use the scarf." Kishan said and pulled a small disc out of his pocket, "Oh! Kelsey, here's the Damon Amulet, you'll probably get the most use out of it."

Kelsey grinned, "Useful."

Kishan snapped and gestured towards Ren.

Ren groaned, "The tiger's back. I can feel him."

I nodded, "Well, it looks like I can explain. Here goes nothing," I took a deep breath and began, "Kelsey got a two-week job at a circus. While she was there she developed a bond with a white tiger called Dhiren. One day, a man called Mr. Kadam came and purchased the tiger. Kelsey agreed to accompany the tiger to a reserve in India."

Kelsey sighed, "I still can't decide if that was the best or worst decision of my life."

I grinned and continued, "While in India, the tiger got loose and ran into the jungle. Kelsey followed him and had to wander around the jungle with a tiger for a few days. Eventually, the tiger led her to a hut where she turned around to find a man and the tiger nowhere in sight. The man said to calm down, that he was Ren, the tiger and showed the rope Kelsey had leashed the Tiger with as proof."

"Wait just a minute!" Anik yelled, "The tiger turned into my dad."

I nodded.

"The man right here? At this table?!", Anik's voice rose with every word he spoke.

I nodded once again and turned to Ren, "You probably want to show him," I murmured.

He sighed, morphed into the white tiger, ambled over to where Kelsey was sitting and put his head on her lap. She grinned and began to stroke his fur.

Anik looked shell-shocked and was having difficulty speaking, "But, you, Dad, never, wha-?!" He took a deep breath and yelled, "Why didn't you tell me?!"

I sighed, "Remember when I said you were in for the shock of your life?"

Anik nodded, "You were right. I don't know-" He trailed off as he saw me shaking my head.

I looked at him and said, "You think this is shocking? You ain't seen nothing yet." Anik looked surprised and more than a bit scared.

"Anik," I said, "your father is a 300 year old Indian prince."

Anik froze and stared at me then looked at each of us in turn, finally, his gaze turned to his mom and dad, "Is this true?"

Kelsey sighed, "Oh Anik, we wanted to tell you, but how do you explain something like this? Especially without proof." Anik seemed very confused about this, "But you have proof," He gestured to Ren the white tiger.

I shook my head. "They didn't have proof. Kishan also has the ability to change into a tiger, a black one not a white one, and due to, certain circumstances, he also has the ability to change into other forms. Kishan gave up his ability to change into one of his forms in order to give Ren back the ability to change into the tiger again." I turned to Kishan, "I must admit I'm curious as to which form you gave up and why, if my deductions are correct, you don't want to broadcast those reasons."

Kishan grimaced, "Whether or not your deductions of that are correct I can't say for sure, but you were right about me not wanting to broadcast them. However, I am curious to see if you are correct."

I nodded. I seemed to be nodding a lot lately. "Pull out the scarf." I mentally told the divine scarf to write out the message I wanted to send.

_Ok, first, the reasoning behind my guess. You are married to Anamika who is also Durga. One of Durga's incarnations was Pavarti. Pavarti's husband was Shiva. That makes you Shiva. Now, Shiva was the one who cast Pavarti's necklace to the waves. Also the one who sent his servant to guard the necklace as a shark. Then, after you won her back. The other god (What was his name?) stole the necklace and changed into a shark that "guarded the necklace for all eternity" or at least until you three came and Ren and Kelsey killed it (trident darts and lightning/fire took down a megalodon, who would've guessed?). But, all this means that if you hadn't cast Anamika down to live among mortals in the first place, the shark wouldn't have been there to terrorize y'all (especially Kelsey) in the first place, thereby making you indirectly responsible for Kelsey almost losing her leg and almost dying, both of which would've happened if not for that milk. So, I'm guessing you chose to give up your form of Shiva because you didn't want to be reminded of the above information while you were here._

Kishan's jaw dropped and he turned to look at me, "That's exactly what I was thinking. How did you know-?" His voice trailed off and he looked at the message again, "Y'all?"

I grinned, "I knew because I realized the whole 'Hey! If this person is this person then that person is that person' bit when I was reading the books for the third or fourth time, and as for the 'y'all', I'm from Texas,"

Ren and Kishan both paled and Kelsey burst out laughing.

Anik, Anamika, and I stared, puzzled, from person to person until I started laughing as well, "I'm not gonna start talking like Wes! He didn't even talk like that! No one in Texas actually talks like that!"

Ren and Kishan looked at each other suspiciously and Kelsey was laughing so hard that she was crying.

Anamika turned to Kishan and said, "What exactly was in this note? Hmmm? Do tell,"

Kishan's face lost the color it had regained, "I'm fine with not telling, really, I am."

I grinned, "Really not something you need to worry about Anamika, now back to the story," I paused, "Unless someone else has something to add," When no one answered, I continued, "After Ren convinced Kelsey that he was indeed a tiger and a 300 year old prince under a curse, he asked her to help break the curse. When he had been captured, he had been unable to transform back into a man, until Kelsey came along. For some reason, after she looked in his eyes and said, 'I wish you were free,' he was able to change into a man, and contact Mr. Kadam who came to Oregon to purchase Ren's freedom, something he had also unable to do until then, which made him think Kelsey was the chosen one of Durga."

Kelsey interrupted, "How do you know that was the exact moment. I don't remember it being specified?"

I nodded, "It wasn't, but it seems to be the most likely candidate."

Anamika nodded, "Trust her judgement, little sister, she's right."

Kelsey scowled, "That nickname is getting a little bit old."

I smiled innocently, "But it's true!"

Kelsey's eyebrows raised, "What do you mean it's true?"

"Well," I started, "you are married to Ren, Anamika is married to Kishan, Ren and Kishan are brothers, which makes you sister-in-laws. Anamika is older than you, making you her younger sister."

Anamika grinned, "A valid point."

Kelsey threw her hands in the air, "Ok! We're keeping the nickname. Can we at least eat lunch?"

Kishan grinned, "As soon as everyone's here."

Ren frowned, "We didn't invite anyone. Did we?"

Anamika spoke tersely, "You didn't."

Kelsey stared from Anamika to Kishan, "Then who-"

She was interrupted a beautiful Asian woman with long black hair, an Asian man with the same eyes as Anamika, and a girl who looked to be about five years younger than Anik and I. She looked like her mom, but had her dad's easy smile. Anamika laughed and went to hug the man, "It's good to see you again!"

"I suppose you are the one who asked us to come here?" Sunil asked his sister.

**A/N: As you can see, things are getting more complicated, it's a good thing Ren, Kelsey, and Anik have a big house!**


	4. Life or Death

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update! My computer glitched and deleted it.  
Special thanks to Princess Meria for naming Ameria.  
I forgot to ask in the last chapter, what does everyone think about Kishan's "Shark Problems", does it seem cannon?**

**Disclaimer: If I owned it, would it be adding a disclaimer?**

I gaped at the two other fictional characters and their daughter before practically exploding, "Oh! Is this everyone then, or is Li gonna drop by for a visit?! Lokesh planning on reincarnating himself for a guest appearance?!" Everyone turned to stare at me like I'd grown a second head, "Look, I'm sorry, it's been a stressful day."

Sunil and Nilima's daughter turned to stare at me, "I just found out that I have an Aunt I didn't know existed, my uncle, whom I was led to believe was dead, is alive, and my parents, are book characters!"

I winced, "Sorry, I didn't mean to- wait, you weren't here for the explanation, how do you know they're book characters?"

Nilima huffed, "Well, my husband woke us up I the middle of the night insisting we pack our bags and leave India immediately. Then, about thirty minutes ago, a pulsing ball of light appeared and _voices_ came out of it, so we pretty much heard everything you said," suddenly her tone turned softer and she stopped glaring daggers at the only people in the room powerful enough to pull that stunt, namely, Anamika and Kishan, and turned to face me, "I'm pretty sure you guessed who my husband I are, but it is still polite to make introductions, this is my daughter, Ameria, my husband, Sunil, and I am Nilima, it's nice to meet you Anna."

I smiled, "Yes, I did guess who you are, although the book ends before Ameria is introduced. Now then," I raised my voice in the general direction of Kishan and Anamika who seemed to be speaking to each other in their heads, " if SOME people are done with the silent conversti-"

I was interrupted by Kishan's pained voice, " I thought we talked about the powers Mika, consult each other first, unless it's an emergency!"

Anamika wasn't about to take this lying down, "This _IS_ an emergency, and before you can start on your next point, yes! This classifies as a life or death situation!"

Kishan jumped to his feet, "No, it doesn't! Life or death means if you don't use some sort of ability, AT THAT MOMENT, people will die, not-"

But he was cut off by Ren, who noticed I had been trying to get everyone's attention, turned into a tiger and roared.

"Thank you Ren,"

He huffed in response, causing me to turn to Kelsey.

She laughed and translated, "You're welcome."

I grinned, "I see why you had to become 'an expert when it came to reading tiger expressions',"

Kelsey groaned, "I know! 24 minutes is next to nothing, 6 hours is very little, 12 hours still means your dealing with tigers, and even when you have 18 or 24 hours, you're still dealing with them!"

I laughed, "Back to the matter at hand, WHY, in the name of Mithros and the Great Mother Goddess, would this be a life or death situation?!"

Kishan turned to me confused, "Who?"

I waved it off, "They only exist in books, at least, I hope they do."

Anamika shook her head, all the mythologies are true,"

I sighed, "Of course they are, but that's not a mythology. They were created for a book series. But, LIFE OR DEATH?! Doncha think we're getting _just_ a bit off topic."

Kishan sighed, "Not something we can explain just yet."

Our conversation was cut short by a low grumble that made us all jump.

Sunil stated, "Um, sorry. That was my stomach."

Kelsey nodded, "Stuffed pasta shells with breadsticks anyone?"

I raised an eyebrow at her and she blushed, "Just a coincidence, I swear."

I rolled my eyes, "Sure Kelsey. No significance behind that particular meal."

Kelsey huffed, "If you're done teasing me, perhaps we could eat?"

Everyone had been following the conversation confusedly, except for Ren, who had been grinning, but seemed to decide it was time to rescue his wife. "I for one, am starved, I would like to enjoy some pasta."

I grinned, "Of course you would Ren."

Anik finally spoke up, "Am I missing something?"

I smiled, "First meal your mom ever made for your dad."

Kishan grinned, "Thank you for that wonderful piece of information Anna."

I turned on him, "Tease your brother about that and I swear, I'm going to tell everyone what was on that message I sent via scarf."

He paled but tried to cover it with bravado, "You wouldn't dare,"

I raised an eyebrow, "Try me."

He nodded, "I'll take your word for it."

Anamika turned to look at Kishan, "I'm very interested in what was in that message, care to share Kishan?"

He gave a nervous laugh, "Enough about me, I'm starved!" And turned to run out of the room.

Kelsey looked at me, "What on EARTH do you have over him?"

I gave a little smile, "I just put two and two together." I turned to look out the door which Kishan had fled through, "You'd think after living here, he'd know the dining room was the other way."

Everyone looked at each other, before we all began to laugh.

**A/N: Sorry, I know it's late, and short, but my computer glitched and it was a good place to end. I might not get one up for a while because we're doing testing at our school, just FYI.**


	5. Prophecy

**AN: Sorry, it took so long, I'm a horrible person and make no promises on updates.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned it, would I be on fanfic?**

We sat down for dinner and I smiled, "On with the story?" After receiving an affirmative, I continued. I told about Phet and the cave of Kanhari I opened the book and recited the first clue/prophecy that led Ren and Kelsey to Kishkinda, meeting Kishan, Kishkinda itself, and managed to skate over most of the emotional part by saying, "Well, Kelsey and Ren were hitting it off, when Kelsey decided it wouldn't work out, and began pushing Ren away. Then she used a rather stupid metaphor about a radish, and returned to Oregon, leaving Ren behind." I proceeded to tell about the next three books, and all the crazy adventures, worlds, creatures, and objects that went with the story. Kishan and Anamika backed me up withe the Golden Fruit, Divine Scarf, Pearl Necklace, Rope of Fire, and Amulet. When I finally finished, everyone had finished their meal and was staring in rapt attention, even the ones who'd lived it.

Anik whistled, "That has got to be the craziest story I have ever heard."

Kelsey nodded, it's one thing to have lived it, quite another to hear it,"

Ameria nodded, "Not to mention that really messed up love triangle."

I snorted, "Love triangle? Hmm, let's see, how many people were involved in that? Kelsey, Ren, Kishan, Anamika, Li, Jason, Artie, Wes, Randi, Lokesh, Nilima, Sunil, Yesubai. Anyone else?" No response. "Well," I said, "That would be fifteen people. That would not be a three person love triangle, but a fifteen person love whatever the name for a fifteen sided figure is."

Kishan winced, "Do we really need to drag Yesubai into this?"

Nilima made a noncommittal noise, "And how did Sunil and I get pulled into this?"

I sighed, "Yes, we do, and I'm afraid it's not my place to tell."

Nilima narrowed her eyes, "What do you mean?"

I shrugged, "Exactly what I said, it's not my place to tell."

Sunil frowned, then brightened, "Well whose place is it to tell then?"

"Hmm," I pondered that for a moment, "I'm afraid _that's_ not really my place to tell either,

Sunil groaned, "Of course it isn't."

I grinned and turned to Anamika and Kishan, "Now then, LIFE OR DEATH?!"

Ameria looked at me in amazement, "You just went from perfectly calm, to raged, and right back to a perfect lady?"

I smiled, "Never hurts to be a good actress."

Kishan winced, "Ah well, ok, well, this is complicated, Um, so after the whole Lokesh/Mahishaur problem we thought we, or at least you guys, not so much Anamika and I, were done with magic and, and prophecies and whatnot. Right?"

Kelsey narrowed her eyes, "Right."

Kishan was now squirming like our eyes were boring lasers into him, "Well, you see, the thing is, we, that is to say, the nine of us, well uh, I suppose I need to start at the beginning, Anamika and I were walking, and, or I suppose walking isn't really the right term, but we fou-"

He was interrupted by a hand being thrown over his mouth by Anamika, "There's been another prophecy."

TC-TQ-TV-TD-TC-TQ-TV-TD-TC-TQ-TV-TD-TC-TQ-TV-TD-TC-TQ-TV-TD

Ren and Sunil stood up and spoke simultaneously, "I will not allow my wife and child to be caught up in this!"

Anamika sighed, "I understand, but while if they're involved in the quest, they _might_ be harmed, if they're not in the quest, they _will_ be harmed."

Sunil ground his teeth, "Is that so? Well, please enlighten us sister dear, how is that possible?"

Anamika sighed and recited from the kind of memory you get from sleepless nights spent agonizing over the problem:

_Tiger black and tiger white,  
Once again they join the fight,  
Goddess whom the world she taught  
Goddess whom the demon fought  
Brother of the goddess fair  
His beautiful wife with long black hair  
Son of white, with golden eyes  
Daughter of brother, oh so wise  
Stranger met within the mall  
A young girl who knows all  
Nine chosen by destiny  
Save the world from tragedy  
Things left untouched by history  
Save those God-touched around the world  
A wiry monk stories unfurled  
Of quest and hardship on they go  
To save gods and goddesses from woe_

After realizing we weren't planning on doing anything but gape, Kishan pulled out a small scroll that had the prophecy written on it.

Ameria looked and said within two seconds of seeing it, "Kishan, Ren, Anamika, Kelsey, Sunil, Nilima, Anik, Me, Anna. In that order." Then as more of an afterthought, "And Phet."

Kishan nodded to the scroll, "Save those God-touched around the world. Ren, Sunil, that means any "Chosen one of"s and anyone related to a god or goddess. That includes everyone in this room." He turned to me, "Everyone that is, except you. Look, I understand if you don't want to help, This isn't your fight." I stared at him, "Are you crazy? I mean sure it'll be dangerous, but I've been waiting for something like this to happen to me since I was like three!" Then I pulled a face, "Just so long as nobody writes a book about it," I paused, "You know, I think I can deal with it, s'long as it's not in my point of view."

Kelsey groaned and buried her hands in her face, "Seconded."

**AN- Sooo, whaja think?**

**Ps: Reviews make me happy, happy me writes more, writes more updates more.**

**Reviews= more updates**

**I know that's blackmail, but I like reviews too much to care**


	6. Girl-Talk

**Woohoo! Over 2,000 words!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tiger's Curse or any recognizable elements, etc.**

Ameria looked up, "Perhaps we should go to bed? It's been dark for about three hours now. I didn't want to say anything, but if we're all done talking?"

I looked at the clock and sure enough, it was eleven. I looked out the window, "Wow," I breathed, "the stars are so pretty."

Kelsey smiled and walked over to the window, "Aren't they? The second I saw the stars, I knew I loved this house. Thanks to the long driveway, we're practically in the countryside, and there's less pollution, making the night that much clearer,"

We all paused, staring out the window, before Ren broke us out of our reverie, "We should probably get everyone settled."

Kelsey looked up, obviously startled, "Oh! Yes," she paused, "we only have one available guest room,"

Kishan smiled, "Not a problem, 'Mika and I are going to head home, we need to get a few things sorted out. We'll be back at noon tomorrow." He pulled at a rope and held it out. He frowned, before smacking his palm to his forehead, "Right, don't have the amulet." He turned to Kelsey, "Would you mind Kells?"

She smiled, "Not at all," before taking the rope. It shot into flames almost as high as the ceiling before settling back to small flickering flames, "Apparently, I need to work on control." She fingered the amulet at her neck, "I haven't used this in forever."

Anamika smiled, "You are not out of practice, having the whole amulet magnifies the power. We will see what we can do about that. Thank you Little Sister," she whipped the rope in a circle, opening a vortex, then, she and Kishan stepped through, and it closed behind them.

Kelsey turned to look at us, "Well that simplifies things, but I'm afraid that we may be a bit cramped,"

I stopped gaping at the place where Kishan and Anamika had disappeared and turned to Kelsey, "I can head back to my apartment,"

Kelsey shook her head, "Nonsense, you're our guest. Besides, what with this new prophecy who knows if we'll be able to actually leave at noon."

Ren placed a hand on Kelsey's shoulder, "Yes, plans have a tendency to go awry when you throw in a supernatural element. Plus, you'll be safer with a tiger here,"

Anik thought before speaking, "The girls can take my room. I'll just pull out the couch,"

Kelsey turned to her son, "Are you sure?

He nodded, "Absolutely,"

Kelsey smiled, "There, that makes it easy. Sunil, Nilima, you two can have the guest room. Anna, Ameria, do you mind sharing?"

Ameria shook her head.

"Not at all," I responded.

"Perfect," Kelsey turned to Anik, "Why don't you show the girls to your room? Oh, and you can use the scarf to make pajamas, Kishan and Anamika seem to have left Durga's gifts here."

Ren raised his eyebrows, "All of them?"

Kelsey nodded, "Everything but the rope,"

Ren shook his head, "The scarf, the necklace, the amulet, and the fruit?"

A nod was his only answer.

He shook his head, "Well, I'll put the scarf here and everyone can come get pajamas when they're ready,"

Anik nodded, "I'll show you guys to my room,"

And with that, Ameria and I got up and followed him through the house, I marveled at all the rooms as we walked though the house, each one had a different color scheme, and no design was ever repeated twice. Somehow, as we walked from room to room, the designs and colors in the different rooms never clashed the way they should. Suddenly, I realized just how many rooms we had walked through, "Hey, Anik?"

"Yeah?"

"Have your parents done any expansion on this house?"

"Yeah, they about doubled the size when they found out I was going to be born. Why do you ask?"

"Because the book doesn't describe the house as this big,"

Ameria whirled to face Anik, "Wait a minute! Why did your mom say you only have one guest bedroom? You have three! Anik. Kishan. Rajaram. Explain. Now."

I started when I heard Anik's full name. To be honest, I had kinda forgotten that these were children of book characters with me. Shoot, I had imagined meeting these people so often that I almost didn't remember that everyone was actually there. I shoved my panic to the side. I could deal with it later. I looked up to see Anik wincing away from Ameria who had her hands on her hips. If Anik hadn't looked so scared, it would have been hilarious. She was a head-and-a-half shorter than him!

"Well, we only have one guest room available. The other two are being painted right now…"

Ameria nodded, satisfied.

Anik cleared his throat, "Perhaps we could keep going?"

I nodded, "Sure,"

He shot me a grateful look before continuing down the hallway. About midway through, he stopped and opened a door to his left. It was decorated in deep jewel tones. It had a large bed, a couple armchairs, a door to what I assumed was the closet, and another one leading to the bathroom.

Anik grinned at us and preformed a large, overdone, and rather inelegant bow, "Here you are, my humble abode!"

I smiled and curtsied, "Why, thank you kind sir!"

Ameria smiled, "Thanks Anik,"

He bowed once again, this time catching Ameria's hand and bowing over it, "Of course my ladies,"

"Oi!" Ameria pulled her hand out of Anik's grasp and smacked him over the head, "How is it that you are five years older than me, and I am five times as mature?"

I sighed and threw an arm around her shoulders, "That, Ameria, is one question girls have been asking about guys for generations,"

"Hey!" Anik stuck his nose in the air, "I'll have you know that I am a mature and sophisticated person,"

Ameria rolled her eyes, "Sure Anik. Of course you are."

We all laughed, grateful to get away from the gloom and doom of prophecies content just to be carefree and silly for one last day.

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I sighed and collapsed on the bed, in new pajamas. They seemed to be made of cotton, but they were the most comfortable I had ever worn. The Divine Scarf was awesome. I sat up and began to brush my hair. I could hear Ameria in the shower we had agreed to switch use of the bathroom. I turned found that my hair had left a large wet spot on the pillow. Well, I knew what side of the bed I'd be sleeping on unless, of course, Ameria wanted to sleep on a big wet spot. She walked out of the bathroom in light blue pajamas and collapsed in the exact same spot I had. I raised my eyebrow at her, "You realize your hair is still wet, right?"

"Yes,"

"Okay,"

She sighed and sat up, "Hand me that hairbrush,"

I nodded and handed her the hairbrush sitting on the dresser before continuing to work through my own tangled knot. I yanked my brush through one last stubborn tangle before setting it down, "How are you still sane?"

She looked up at me, "What do you mean?"

I gestured around the room, "Just, all of this! I mean, everything!"

She looked at me, "I could ask you the same thing,"

I nodded, "Tell you what, you explain, then I'll explain,"

She thought for a moment before answering, "Well, I suppose it's because I've always been a logical person. My family is still the same family I know. The difference is me, therefore; if I don't freak out, there's no cause to do so. It's like, the first time you read. You pick up a book, and it has new meaning. The book is the same, whether you can read or not. You're the one that's seeing it differently,"

"I, that actually makes a lot of sense."

Ameria nodded, "Well, what about you?"

I sighed, "To be entirely honest, I'm half convinced I'm dreaming. In fact, if you weren't here, I would be positive,"

She frowned, "What about me makes you positive it's not a dream?"

"Well, the books are set before you and Anik are born, but while in the grove of dreams, Kishan has a vision of Kelsey holding a baby boy who she names "Anik Kishan Rajaram" so he is mentioned. Not for more than a couple pages, and it comes up again later, even though it's not really about him per say, more about the idea of there being a baby. Kelsey spent a lot of time agonizing over who she was in love with and everything so she spent a lot of time wondering about the baby. Kishan never told her he saw the baby's eyes. He wanted it to be her choice, even though he knew if she was told the baby had golden eyes, she would choose him. He did tell Ren though,"

Ameria blinked, "I never knew what my family went through,"

I nodded, "It's pretty crazy isn't it? But enough about that! Tell me about yourself. What are you're friends like? Are any of them super-girly?"

She paused, "You know, I never really had that many friends. My two close friends are both guys. We've known each other forever,"

I grinned, "Ok, so not super-girly… Wait. Does that mean you've never had girl-talks? You know, chatting maybe a bit of gossip and whatever?"

"Nope"

I shook my head, "That ends now. I hope the fruit works up here. Yay!" I squealed as a plate of chocolate appeared, "Sit down! Have some chocolate!"

Ameria smiled, "I don't have a choice do I?"

"Nope!"

She laughed, "Alright then,"

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Thirty minutes later we had eaten all the chocolate and were halfway through another plate. I had learned that we were both avid readers, that she was an only child, but Anik was like her brother, that she was going to turn sixteen in January, that Anik was five years older than her, and that she was probably going to take over Rajaram industries even though Ren was the head because "Anik had no common sense". I had told her that I had just turned twenty, was majoring in computer science, that I had a ten year old sister that me and my entire family spoiled, and that Kelsey would kill me if I lent her the Tiger's Curse books. I had also explained exactly how I had gotten pulled into the whole mess, meeting Anik at the mall, knowing his name, meeting Ren ana Kelsey, that little story.

"So, Ameria, do you have a crush on anyone?" I teased.

She gave a nervous grin, "Well, I told you about my friends, right? James is the taller one, black hair, brown eyes, and he's really cute! He doesn't see me as anyone but a friend though. What about you?"

"No. A bunch of the guys I know are jerks, and there's some really nice guys that are kinda cute, but I just don't like any of them. I mean I like them, but I don't _like them_ like them."

She nodded, "I know what you mean. I think Anik likes you though,"

"What?"

"I don't think he knows, he's pretty clueless about that sort of stuff, but he wouldn't have introduced himself to you like that if he didn't,"

"Na, he probably just recognized me from WOU, like he said,"

Ameria gave a little smile and sing-songed, "If you say so!"

"Go to sleep!"

She laughed, "'Night Anna,"

"Goodnight Ameria,"

**Ok, sorry it took a while for me to update. :( I've been kind of busy. To make up for it, this one is really long. (Over 2,000 words without the Author's Notes or Disclaimer! Yay!)**

**Also, _please please please_ review. Even if it's just one word, or if you have a suggestion or anything! I live off of reviews. _PPPPPlllleeeeeaaaaassssseeeee!_  
**


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